Details of the Exam Structure

The three part examination will be given in the context of CS 6901, and this is the only mandatory aspect of the course. The offerings will be Fall and Spring quarters. On each part, a student must choose to answer 2 of 3 questions. One and a half hours are allotted for each exam. The exams are closed book, closed notes.

The course grade is based soley on the exam scores and results in CREDIT/NO CREDIT. The student must receive a total score of 72/120 points (60\% rule) to receive a CREDIT (PASS) grade. The following is the standardized Student Learning Outcome (SLO) for each exam:

Grading

Result

Grade

Student Learning Outcome

Excellent

34-40 pts

: Understands essentially correct solution

Good

27-33 pts

: Understands correct solution, but errors in execution

Adequate

22-26 pts

: Some understanding of solution, but has serious errors

Poor

13-21 pts

: No understanding of solution, but has some knowledge of topic area

No Effort

0-12 pts

: No understanding of the solution, or the topic area

The above descriptions are on a per answer basis, and do not account for the variety between the two selected problems in the section. For example, scores of 17 and 17 are both essentially correct and yield an overall Excellent (34) result. Another example is an Adequate (22) result derived from an Excellent (17) understanding of one problem but No Effort (5) on the other problem.

These are examples of passing all three sections with a 72 score overall:

Adequate (24)+ Adequate (24)+ Adequate (24)

Good (28)+ Adequate (22)+ Adequate (22)

Excellent (34)+ Excellent (34)+ No Effort (4)

Excellent (34)+ Adequate (25)+ Poor (13)

If the student does not pass the course, an INCOMPLETE or NO CREDIT grade will be issued. See below about re-taking the exam.

If the student does not pass the examination in CS 6901, the following provides information on re-taking the exam.

In all cases, the student must take all 3 sections of the exam. After the first attempt, an INCOMPLETE will be issued and the student is allowed to re-take the exam (but all 3 sections) the next time the course is offered. If the student passes, then CREDIT will be assigned as usual. If the student does not pass the second attempt, then NO CREDIT will be assigned, and the student must start over by re-registering for CS 6901.